Li, Tong, Litscher, Gerhard, Zhou, Yudian et al. · Complementary therapies in medicine · 2025 · DOI
This study tested whether acupuncture and moxibustion (a traditional heat therapy) could help people with chronic fatigue syndrome by measuring changes in heart rate variability, which reflects how well the nervous system is working. Researchers divided 175 CFS patients into groups receiving different acupuncture treatments, fake acupuncture, or moxibustion over 10 sessions. Both acupuncture and moxibustion reduced fatigue symptoms, with combining both approaches working best, and the treatments appeared to help balance the body's stress response system.
Autonomic nervous system dysfunction is implicated in ME/CFS pathophysiology, and heart rate variability is an objective, measurable biomarker of autonomic balance. This study provides empirical evidence that traditional acupuncture may normalize ANS function in CFS patients, offering a potential low-risk adjunctive approach and supporting further investigation into mechanism-based acupuncture point selection.
This study does not establish acupuncture as a cure for ME/CFS or prove superiority over established treatments (pacing, cognitive behavioral therapy, etc.). The sham acupuncture control does not eliminate all placebo effects, and the study does not definitively prove that HRV changes translate to sustained clinical improvement or functional recovery. Long-term durability of benefits beyond the 5-week treatment window remains unknown.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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